Parallel
by historymortician
Summary: In which Ryuk and Rem are human and Light and Misa are the Shinigami who drop their Death Notes.
1. Chapter 1

She is walking home when she hears the mewling cry from the alleyway. Quietly, she peers around the corner, and is met with the sight of a young girl from her school, perhaps a year or two beneath her, surrounded by two older girls. Their voices are raucous, like crows or vultures, and the younger girl has tears in her eyes, glistening on her lashes. One harsh shove and she falls, dirtying her hands and scraping her knees. Red anger bubbles in Rem's stomach and she steps around the corner completely, her shadow falling across the scene, far larger than she truly is. The two girls turn abruptly, sneers and narrowed eyes morphing to fearful submission. Rem imagines she poses a fearsome image, the slowly setting sun framing her muscular form in a halo of sorts. Hands on hips she walks slowly forward, the two frightened girls backing up with each step she takes towards them. She orders them to leave, her richly deep voice rumbling past her lips in almost a growl. In a moment the alley is clear of the bullies and Rem turns her gaze to the young girl on the ground. She extends a hand , keeping her expression neutral. Shaking fingers reach back, and Rem helps pull the girl to her feet. She asks if the girls is alright and is answered with yes, everything is fine, thank you. The girl wipes the mud from her hands onto her pants as best she can and then fidgets uncomfortably, twisting her fingers together. Her downcast eyes lift briefly to Rem's before darting back to the ground. _Why. _Rem jolts slightly and stares at the girl. She asks what the girl means and she replies quickly never mind before walking past Rem with her head down and her shoulders hunched. Rem heaves a sigh, lamenting the fact that a simple act of kindness has suspicion cast upon it in this world she was born into. She turns slowly back to the mouth of the alleyway when a glint of brightest white catches her eye. At first she thinks it merely to be the suns fading rays reflecting off the rain puddle, but as she approaches the edge of the small pool she is surprised. It is a notebook. A black cover with white writing. _Death Note._ A small shiver runs down her spine. A light wind blows across the surface of the puddle, distorting the notebooks image somewhat. Rem stares a moment longer before continuing home.

Rem sits in class the next day, attempting to pay attention to the voice of her teacher. However, due to his habit of ending his sentences in a whisper and Ryuk very diligently attempting to get her to lend him the answers to next classes homework from the night before, this is easier said than done. She breaths in through clenched teeth before turning her gaze to Ryuk's. His eyes are wide; too wide and too far apart, and his mouth is also too large for his lean face. He cracks a smile that could make him almost handsome if he weren't smiling at her irritation. She narrows her eyes, and he chuckles before turning around to bother the student behind him. Rem turns her attention back to the blackboard but finds herself continually distracted by the writing of the white chalk so similar in color to the shimmering, distorted letters on the notebook.

She looks down at the notebook. Biting her lip she glances around. Surely, if it mattered to someone they would have retrieved it by now? Is it really stealing if no one wants it anyway? She rolls her eyes at her own foolishness. If Ryuk could see her making this big of a deal over a silly notebook he would cackle his annoying laugh and tell her to stop being so dumb and boring. Rolling her eyes she gingerly touches the cover, shivering at the chill of the water. She pulls it out, sopping wet, the pages sticking together in large clumps. She closes it and gazes at the cover, now unsure what to do. She can't possibly put this in her schoolbag, the water would ruin her books. Sighing, she lifts her eyes and chokes back a scream. The damp notebook falls from her hands splashing back into the puddle and drenching her socks and shoes. Shaking, she feels her legs go out as she slides to her knees. An apparition stands before her. Tall and white, pure white. The body is distinctly female, slender but well endowed. Long arms that end in long-fingered hands, bright red claws tipping each nail bed. Waist length hair flows in ever-changing, swirling patterns. And the face, _the face_ is nothing but bright red lips and bright red eyes staring straight into her soul. Her breath comes in hitched gasps, and is unsure if she is so arrested by this image before her because of it's terror or it's beauty or both.

Rem is unsure how long she kneels upon the ground, but it has to have been after the image stopped speaking because when those red lips parted and words were formed of the most enchantingly haunting voice Rem has heard poured forth she was barely able to keep enough mental clarity to focus let alone will her legs to a standing position. But she is walking know, nearing home, natural light not from the moon but from the nearly blinding white glare of the apparition that walks beside her. Her name is Kuromisa, and she is a shinigami, a word foreign to Rem's ears. The notebook belonged to her but now it is Rem's and she is free to do as she wishes. What exactly she is free to do with it has been yet to explained but once the notebook dries Rem intends to inspects it's pages thoroughly.

Kuromisa follows her down the hallway of her school, gently assuring her in a soothing voice that no one but she can see or hear her. Rem has left the notebook at home, drying under a heat lamp that she usually reserves for her plant cultivations. The cover, upon further inspection was inscribed with English as well as another language Rem did not recognize. Upon hesitant questioning of Kuromisa, she reveals it is Japanese. Slipping into her seat, Rem turns to Ryuk and taps his shoulder. He turns to her with a smirk and a questioning look in his too large eyes. She asks is he recognizes the word. His eyes widen more and she would have laughed at the fact that she had seemingly fazed the unflappable if the situation weren't so strange. Ryuk recovers after a moment before rolling his eyes and asking where she heard a word like that, that a shinigami was a god of death, and why she cared in the first place. She snaps that it's none of his business and takes slight satisfaction as his jaw drops at her tone. The lecture begins but her head is buzzing and it is all she can do to stop herself from staring at Kuromisa or shaking from this newfound realization.

A/N: Oh, I've been excited to write this! I haven't tried writing like this before but I've always admired people who master it and I thought it would fit with this story. In case you were wondering for some physicals of Ryuk and Rem, I am headcanoning their human forms as such. Ryuk: Lanky, tall, of Japanese descent. Rem: Shorter in stature but muscular, African-American, dreads. Also, in this universe the story takes place in America. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and feel free to leave a comment or a critique, I'm always open for tips on improvement!


	2. Chapter 2

He is sitting in math class struggling to stay awake, blearily rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The teacher stands with her back turned to the class writing equation after equation on the bright white dry erase board. He yawns and stretches his long arms behind his head, ignoring the irritated sigh of the student sitting behind him whose view he has just obscured and the disgusted glance his seat neighbor gives him as his joints crack loudly. Ryuk settles back into his seat, shifting his gaze to the clock and then to the window where a flurry of colors assails him. Oranges, golds, reds, and browns. He is half tempted to simply walk out of the class and out the front doors and maybe even out of this deadbeat worthless town. However, he supposes, Rem would probably track him down and berate him all the way back to this hellhole about how he wasn't going to go anywhere and why couldn't he at least try to stay out of trouble. His usually constant smirk slips as his thoughts turn to his purple-haired 'friend.' She has always been rather troublesome. Rem is infatuated with people, although most would never guess this, what, with how stand-offish she can come across as. But Ryuk is adept at reading people and was quickly able to deduce how susceptible she was to others pain and suffering. She practically leaks empathy and compassion and love and every other sickly sweet emotion Ryuk would rather not bother with. Though it does confuse him that unlike so many others who are also filled with such immense feeling, laden down by such humanity, Rem is not weak. In fact, she is one of the strongest people he has ever met. Which makes her just that more troublesome. The sound of his own name being called by the teacher draws him from his thoughts to stare down the woman's beady eyes and beaky nose. So ugly, he sneers. She asks if he would like to rejoin the class and cease his 'daydreaming.' Ryuk simply smirks wider, stands, flips off the teacher, and gathers his things before making for the door. He ignores her angry words following him out into the hallway and tells himself he has more important things to figure out.

He leaves school property quickly, not wanting to deal with authorities trying to force him back to class. His pace slows as he finds himself at a safe distance and he allows his thoughts to once more return to Rem. Not only is she strong, oh no, but meddlesome as well. From the moment they met she apparently took it upon herself to be his personal shoulder angel. He snorts as he imagines tiny, irritable Rem in a halo and robe. While these are traits that make her annoying to deal with she has never been too much of a threat to his person, unless he counted the permanent bruise just below his shoulder where she seemed inclined to punch playfully whenever he is being particularly awful. Now, though, now something has changed. One word, he thinks, should not be enough to catch his breath or falter his ever-present smile. One word, he thinks, that should have never passed her lips. A coincidence, perhaps? But, no, Rem has never displayed much interest in his culture. Why or how would she have come across that word by mere chance? If it had only been the word, perhaps he could have shrugged the occurrence off as one of those one-in-a-million chances. But it is not only the word. Rem herself is...different. Reserved, even for her and...shaken. She looks exhausted most days and he will occasionally prod her in class to keep her from passing out over her history textbook. The glances as well are worrisome to say the least. Glances at the corner of the classroom, glances to her side, and even attempted discreet glances behind. It's really quite amusing to see her so obviously paranoid of something and so obviously failing to conceal her fear. Though not amusing enough to dispel his own unease.

It is dark by the time he is walking up the creaking metal staircase that leads to the apartment he shares with his grandmother. He walks up four flights before pausing at the last landing and turning to stare at the sky, dark grey clouds against an even darker emptiness. Rem is amusing and unsettling and he isn't quite sure yet how he will handle her. He supposes he will simply observe her a while longer, she won't catch on, she thinks him as idiotic as the rest. But he smiles and rests assured with his own knowledge of his intellect. Then again, there is an easier and quicker way to attain this information. While bringing a potential threat, this development could also lessen the suffocating boredom he suffers from daily. He smiles wider and turns to gaze upon an inky blackness darker still than the empty sky behind him. My shadow that is not my shadow. He asks quietly for insight, casually bringing a slender black notebook out of his schoolbag, grinning broadly as his shadow shivers with excitement and slowly leans in towards his ear.

A/N: Shorter than the last but I didn't want to drag it out. Thank you for being patient for this next chapter and thank you for those that have left kudos! Very motivating! As always, I am open to criticism so feel free to share opinions on what you think needs improvement/what you enjoyed! :)


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